Best Web Design in La Crosse, WI (2026)

Web Design for La Crosse, Wisconsin

La Crosse is a river city of roughly 52,000 people set at the confluence of the Mississippi, Black, and La Crosse rivers, tucked into the ridge-and-valley 'Coulee Region' of Wisconsin's unglaciated Driftless Area. It grew from an 1841 fur-trading post into a brewing and railroad hub, and it is still defined by Grandad Bluff's sweeping overlook, the beer-can-shaped 'World's Largest Six-Pack,' and one of the country's largest Oktoberfest celebrations.

AppWT works with La Crosse, WI businesses from Livonia, Michigan, mostly online and travelling as needed.

About La Crosse

Also known as. God's Country (a brewing-era slogan tied to the region's Old Style beer and Driftless scenery). The Coulee Region / Coulee Country (for the steep ridges and valleys of the surrounding Driftless Area). Oktoberfest City.

History. Lt. Zebulon Pike documented the site in 1805 as 'Prairie La Crosse,' named for the Native American stick-and-ball game (lacrosse) played on the prairie. Nathan Myrick, a New York native, established the first white settlement and trading post around 1841-1842. The city was incorporated in 1856. A rail link to Milwaukee (the La Crosse & Milwaukee Railroad) reached the city in 1858, turning it into a river-and-rail transfer point and fueling rapid growth. Gottlieb Heileman founded his brewery in 1858, launching a brewing legacy that produced the G. Heileman Brewing Company and Old Style beer. In 2016 city leaders formally apologized for La Crosse's 20th-century history as a 'sundown town.'

Local economy. Health care anchors the economy, with Gundersen Health System and Mayo Clinic Health System among the largest employers. Trane, the HVAC manufacturer, has deep roots in the city, and convenience-store chain Kwik Trip is a major regional employer. City Brewing Company now operates the historic Heileman brewery, continuing a brewing tradition that once dominated local industry. La Croix sparkling water was created in La Crosse in 1981 at the G. Heileman Brewing Company. Three colleges (University of Wisconsin-La Crosse, Viterbo University, and Western Technical College) serve nearly 20,000 students and are significant employers.

Culture and community. Oktoberfest USA, first held in 1961, is one of the largest and longest-running Oktoberfest celebrations in the U.S., drawing crowds as large as 150,000. Rotary Lights fills Riverside Park with more than three million holiday lights from the day after Thanksgiving through New Year's, a tradition running since 1995. Riverside Park hosts Riverfest, Moon Tunes summer concerts, and Fourth of July fireworks. The Blue Stars Drum and Bugle Corps is based in La Crosse. An Irishfest and St. Patrick's Day parade reflect the city's ethnic heritage alongside its German brewing roots.

What makes La Crosse distinct. The city is named for a game (lacrosse), not a person. It sits in the Driftless Area, unglaciated terrain of steep bluffs and coulees rare in the upper Midwest. A 25-foot Hiawatha statue known as the 'Big Indian' stood at Riverside Park for decades before its 2020 removal amid concerns over racial stereotyping. La Croix sparkling water, now a national brand, was born at the local Heileman brewery in 1981. La Crosse's municipal water won a statewide 'best natural tasting water' award in 2007.

La Crosse Landmarks and Local Life

• Grandad Bluff - a roughly 500-foot bluff overlooking the city and Mississippi valley, was mentioned in Mark Twain's 'Life on the Mississippi.'
• The 'World's Largest Six-Pack,' built in 1969 as brewery storage tanks shaped like a giant six-pack - stands about 54 feet tall at the former Heileman brewery
• Riverside Park sits at the confluence of the Mississippi - Black, and La Crosse rivers
• The La Crosse Center is the city's downtown convention center and arena.
• Mt. La Crosse ski area features 'Damnation,' billed as one of the Midwest's steepest runs.